Pizza rolls are a popular frozen snack food consisting of bite-sized pieces of dough stuffed with pizza sauce, cheese, and other pizza toppings. They were invented in the late 1960s and first sold commercially in stores in the early 1970s. So yes, pizza rolls did exist in the 1970s, though they were a relatively new product at the time.
History of Pizza Rolls
Pizza rolls were invented by two brothers, Bob and Paul Baker, in Buffalo, New York in the late 1960s. The Baker brothers came up with the idea as a way to make use of leftover pizza dough from their family’s restaurant business. They experimented with rolling the dough into bite-sized pieces and stuffing it with pizza ingredients to create a handheld snack.
In 1971, the Baker brothers partnered with the Jeno’s pizza company to mass produce the rolls and sell them commercially under the Totino’s brand name (Jeno’s was later acquired by General Mills). Totino’s Pizza Rolls officially hit freezer aisles across the United States in 1972. Early TV commercials advertised Pizza Rolls as the perfect after school snack for kids.
Popularity and Growth in the 1970s
Though pizza rolls debuted at the start of the 1970s, they took some time to catch on nationally. In the first few years, Totino’s Pizza Rolls were primarily only available regionally in certain parts of the northeastern and midwestern United States.
As the 70s went on, however, frozen pizza snacks continued to gain popularity with American consumers. Pizza rolls started to expand in distribution and sales. By 1975, Totino’s Pizza Rolls were being sold in grocery stores across the country.
An important factor driving pizza rolls’ growing popularity in the 70s was advances in microwave oven technology. As more American households acquired microwave ovens in the mid to late 70s, pizza rolls were marketed and embraced as a quick and easy snack that could be heated up conveniently at home.
Flavors and Varieties in the 1970s
The first pizza rolls in the early 1970s only came in a basic pizza flavor, with tomato sauce, cheese, and pepperoni or sausage. As the product line expanded through the decade, some new flavor varieties were introduced:
- Supreme (added vegetables like onions, mushrooms, and bell peppers)
- Meatball
- Taco (ground beef and taco seasonings)
However, options were still much more limited than the wide range of pizza roll flavors available today. Simple pizza and pepperoni remained the most popular.
Pizza Rolls’ Lasting Popularity Since the 70s
Pizza rolls continued growing in popularity and distribution in the 1980s and 1990s. By the late 90s, Totino’s Pizza Rolls had become the top selling frozen snack in the U.S.
Even with more recent competition from other snack brands, pizza rolls remain beloved today. Estimates suggest around 2 billion pizza rolls are sold annually in the U.S. Many kids who grew up eating pizza rolls in the 70s and 80s now enjoy passing on the snack tradition to their own families.
While recipes and ingredients have evolved, the basic concept of bite-sized pizza-stuffed dough remains unchanged from the original 1970s pizza rolls. They remain a staple snack food thanks to their tasty comfort food appeal that was first discovered decades ago.
Conclusion
In summary, yes pizza rolls did exist back in the 1970s after being invented at the end of the 1960s. They were first sold commercially in stores in the early 70s but took some time to gain widespread popularity and distribution. As microwave ovens became more common in the mid-late 1970s, pizza rolls grew into a convenient, quick-cooking snack for families across America. While flavor varieties were initially limited, the basic pizza roll concept proved so successful that these frozen snacks are still loved today, more than 50 years after they first appeared in freezer sections. So next time you pop a pizza roll into your mouth, you can marvel at this iconic snack’s 70s roots!